Friday, 22 July 2016

The 1989 US PGA Championship was going so well for Mike Reid, but with just three holes to go things started to go downhill fast.

Golf, perhaps more than any other sport, has seen its fair share of famous collapses. Indeed, if sport is often played in the head, then it can come as no surprise that many a golfer has succumbed to the pressures of trying to close out a major during the inward half of the final round. The list is long and exhaustive: Adam Scott (2012 Open); Jordan Spieth (2016 US Masters); Rory McIlroy (2011 US Masters); Jean van de Velde (1999 Open); Arnold Palmer (1966 US Open); T.C. Chen (1985 US Open). These are just a few examples of someone getting a severe case of the final round heebie-jeebies.

Friday, 15 July 2016

August 10, 1984: after 1,700 metres of the women's 3,000m Olympic final, four runners are out in front. We didn't know it at the time, but we were just seconds away from one of the most memorable moments of the 1984 Summer Olympics, indeed of the whole sporting decade.

A race that had been so eagerly anticipated appeared to be living up to the hype. Yet for two of the athletes involved, there would be no fairy tale ending, more like a nightmare. It is a story that needs to be told and, luckily for a sports addict like me, it has. This unfortunate coming together has been brilliantly covered in Kyle Keiderling's new book: Olympic Collision - The story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd.

Wednesday, 6 July 2016

This week I am taking a look back on the Open Championships of the 1980s.
A decade that was initially dominated by Tom Watson, saw Britain enjoy success, involved the joy of Seve, and witnessed record attendances, and high and low scores. Plus a few dodgy number ones....